RI student wins second place in Mondialogo contest

Kurniawan Hari , The Jakarta Post , Beijing | Fri, 10/03/2008 11:33 AM | National

SECOND PRIZE: Indonesian student Angela Wu (right) and her teammate Anastasiya Onyshko from Ukraine pose in front of their work at the Jade Garden Hotel in Beijing. The team came second at the Mondialogo School Contest. (JP/Kurniawan Hari)

Indonesian student Angela Wu and Ukrainian teammate Anastasiya Onyshko won second place at the prestigious Mondialogo School Contest, the world's largest intercultural dialog and exchange contest for high school students.

Angela, a student at Indonesia's British International School (BIS) and Anastasiya each received a trophy and 1,000 euro (US$1400) for their mobile bike library project at the contest which was held in Beijing from Sept. 25 to Sept. 29.

"The self-written and illustrated story books are intended to promote reading," the panel of judges said in a statement.

The magnitude of the mobile library project had been a topic of discussion among journalists covering the event before the official announcement. Some journalists had even bet that the Indonesian-Ukrainian team would win.

However, the jury picked Lebanese student Michelle Karam and Serbian teammate Kristina Jaukovic for first place.

The Lebanon-Serbia team had designed a playground for disabled children, which was meant to be a safe place to play and to learn about each other's culture.

Two teams shared third place, the Germany-Mexico team and the Syria-United States team.

The Russia-Turkey team was awarded a special prize for sustainability while the Benin-United States team took the award for cultural diversity.

"We came in first last year. I think it's OK to win second place this year," BIS teacher Adrian Marcus Thirkell told The Jakarta Post.

The Mondialogo School Contest was first introduced in 2003 by German carmaker Daimler and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It serves as a forum for dialog between high school students from various cultural backgrounds and continents. The students work together on a joint project.

Through this intercultural initiative, students are expected to develop understanding, solidarity, tolerance and respect for people with different cultures, religions, languages and origins.

A total of 36,000 students from 140 countries had applied to compete. Only 2,740 teams passed the qualifying round and then they worked together on joint projects across the continents.

From this group, the top 25 teams were selected to attend the contest. Team members met their respective partners for the first time in Beijing, as all previous communication was done through the Internet.

Ulrich Walker, CEO of Daimler North East Asia, said the event was an important forum for young people to understand different cultures. He said he had been deeply impressed by the students' work and presentations.

"The task to promote cultural dialog cannot be carried out alone. That is why we look to the younger generation. This forum is an example of how to build a cultural dialog," said Hans d'Orville from UNESCO.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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President Asks Young People to Face Global Competition

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked young people to prepare themselves to face global competition and avoid drugs.

“Globalization creates opportunities as well as threats. We have to survive this,” said Yudhoyono at the commemoration of the 80th youth pledge at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah yesterday (28/10).

The commemoration was attended by 2,000 young people from throughout Indonesia, with about 300 of them reading out the pledge.

The commemoration was also attended by cabinet ministers and ambassadors.

The President asked young people to continue the agenda of development, reform, and transformation following the crisis 10 years ago.

“Please continue to take our county to become more democratic and prosperous,” country,” he said.

At the commemoration, President sent text messages promoting anti-drugs message to young people by cell phone.

The message was sent yesterday at 4:30pm to 0:00 through all phone operators and fixed wireless access.

Ninin Damayanti | DIAN YULIASTUTI

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Porn bill passed despite protests

Abdul Khalik , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 10/31/2008 8:00 AM | Headlines

MORALITY OR POLITICS: Members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Prosperous Peace Party (FDS), who opposed the controversial bill, leave the assembly room before the vote. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the contentious anti-pornography bill, defying months of protest from artists, pluralists and human rights groups.

Two of 10 factions in the House, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), boycotted a plenary session to endorse the modified bill that criminalizes all works and acts deemed obscene and capable of breaching public morality.

The passage of the bill was quickly slammed by human rights and pluralist organizations, as well as several provinces opposed to it.

They claim the law threatens national unity, discriminates against minority groups and women, and harms pluralism and diversity in the country.

Just minutes after the plenary session opened, PDI-P and PDS legislators interrupted the forum and subsequently walked out of the House in protest at the bill.

Also boycotting the session were two Balinese legislators from the Golkar Party, Lisnawati Karna and Gede Sumarjaya Linggih. They each interrupted the meeting and walked out of the room while their party read out its approval of the bill.

“We agree we must protect our nation from pornography, but we can’t accept the substance of this bill. Thus we are not responsible for it,” PDI-P faction chairman Tjahjo Kumolo said after leaving the session.

Carol Daniel Kadang of the PDS said the House was in too much of a hurry to pass the bill and that procedurally it should have consulted first with each province rejecting the bill.

Women in Muslim attire cheer shortly after members of the House of Representatives vote by an overwhelming majority to pass the anti-pornography bill during a plenary session in Jakarta on Thursday. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

Hundreds of spectators, mainly supporters of the bill, gave the session an air of religious fervor. Along with several legislators, they clapped and shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great), each time a legislator voiced support for the passage of the bill.

As House Speaker Agung Laksono banged his gavel to officially pass the bill into law, they clapped and shouted even louder.

“This is what we need to fight pornography. This law will complete our legal system to protect us from pornographic materials,” Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni said.

People’s Consultative Assembly chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid, a member of the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) that championed the bill, said the law would not discriminate against any section of society.

Nor will it spark violence, he added in all sincerity.

The bill’s opponents say its approval smacks of political machinations ahead of the 2009 elections, most likely to boost support among the predominantly Muslim voter base for the parties backing the bill.

“This (bill) only shows that the House and the government have politicized morality and religion and are just using them as a means of retaining power,” National Commission for Women’s Protection chairwoman Kamala Chandrakirana said in a statement.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika and North Sulawesi Governor SH Sarundajang, ardent opponents of the bill, vowed to continue opposing the new law.

“We will continue opposing the porn law because this has been our stance from the very beginning,” Pastika told reporters in Denpasar.

Contentious articles in the porn bill:

1. Article 1: Definition
Pornography is drawings, sketches, illustrations, photographs, texts, voices, sound, moving pictures, animations, cartoons, poetry, conversations, gestures, or other forms of communicative messages through various kinds of media; and/or performances in front of the public, which may incite obscenity, sexual exploitation and/or violate moral ethics in the community.
Feared impact:
The definition is open to all kinds of interpretation, such as how to define gestures that incite obscenity or sexual exploitation, and will be subject to debate.

2. Articles 20-23: Public Participation
The public can play a role in preventing the production, distribution and use of pornography...by...(d) supervising people on the danger of pornography.
Feared impact:
This article could be used by certain groups to take the law into their own hands by attacking people they believe are violating the law.

3. Articles 8, 34, 36: Criminalization of victims
The articles threatens up to 10 years in prison or Rp 5 billion in fines for violators of the law.
Feared impact:
Artists or models in art shows or productions could be punished for their creativity.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Indonesia is significant for Japan

Padang, W Sumatra, (ANTARA News) - Japanese ambassador to Indonesia Shiojiri Kojiro said that Indonesia is an important country to Japan because both nations have similarity to prioritize children`s education.

The Japanese envoy made the remarks when presenting his government citation to Bung Hatta university (UBH) in Padang, capital of West Sumatra province on Wednesday.

UBH received the citation based on the Japanese consideration over the university`s great contribution in enhancing the two countries` relations particularly in the fields of education, letters and culture.

In addition, the two countries have never caused other nations cornered.

With such similarities, Kojiro said he felt happy to become Japanese envoy to Indonesia and not to mention that Indonesia is important to Japan due to its substantial deposite of mineral and human resources.

Despite its much import of energy currently, Japan believes that Indonesia as a democratic country still has sufficient deposit of energy.

This university used the name of Bung Hatta, Indonesia`s first vice president. (*)

COPYRIGHT © 2008

Source : www.antara.co.id

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Corruption, Lawlessness Fuel Epidemic of Illegal Logging in Indonesia

WASHINGTON, DC and JAKARTA, Indonesia, Feb. 20, 2002 – Corruption and lawlessness are fuelling an epidemic of illegal logging in Indonesia, resulting in a doubling of the country’s deforestation rates in the late 1990s, according to a report released today.

Indonesia today is losing nearly 2 million hectares of forest every year, up from 1 million hectares annually in the 1980s. Forest cover fell from 162 million hectares in 1950 to only 98 million hectares in 2000. The country’s richest forests, the lowland forests, are almost entirely gone in the island of Sulawesi and will disappear in 2005 from Sumatra and in 2010 in Kalimantan.

“Deforestation on this scale, at this speed, is unprecedented,” said Emily Matthews, co-author of the report, The State of the Forest: Indonesia. “Indonesia is rapidly transitioning from a forest-rich to a forest-poor country.”

The report, published by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Global Forest Watch (GFW), and Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), is the first comprehensive map-based assessment of the forests of Indonesia. It provides a detailed analysis of the scale and pace of change affecting Indonesia’s forests.

The report concludes that the doubling of deforestation rates in Indonesia is largely the result of a corrupt political and economic system that regards natural resources as a source of revenue to be exploited for political ends and personal gain. The political instability that followed the economic crises of 1997 and the eventual ouster of former President Suharto in 1998 further increased deforestation to its current level.

“Indonesia’s economic miracle of the 1980s and the 1990s was based on ecological devastation and abuse of local people’s rights and customs,” said Togu Manurung, director of Forest Watch Indonesia. “Our findings do not provide grounds for much optimism, despite clear signs of change in Indonesia.”

Driving the rapid deforestation of Asia’s largest – and the world’s third largest -- contiguous areas of tropical forests are corruption, lawlessness, illegal logging, political instability, and over-expansion of forest industries.

Logging concessions covering more than half the country’s total forest area were awarded by former President Suharto, many of them to his relatives and political allies. Today, ten companies control 45 percent of the total logging concessions in the country.

“Cronyism in the forestry sector left timber companies free to operate with little regard for long-term sustainability,” said Matthews. According to the Ministry of Forestry, legal timber supplies from natural forests declined from 17 million cubic meters in 1995 to less than 8 million cubic meters in 2000.

Massive expansion in the plywood, pulp and paper industries over the last 20 years means that demand for wood fiber now exceeds legal supplies by as much as 40 million cubic meters annually. Many industry leaders have acknowledged their dependence on illegally cut wood, which accounted for as much as 65 percent of the supply in 2000.

The government’s industrial timber plantation program and the system of converting forests into plantations further drive deforestation. Nearly 9 million hectares of land, much of it natural forest, has been allocated for industrial timber plantations by 1997. While most of it is cleared now, only 2 million of it has been re-planted. In addition, nearly 7 million hectares of forest had been approved for conversion into palm oil or rubber plantations, but only about 4 million has actually been planted.

The report warns that Indonesia’s rapid move to a new system of regional autonomy could result in further deforestation since provincial and district governments do not have the funds or the capacity to govern effectively. Raising short-term revenue will be a top priority and as a result, intensified exploitation of forest resources is already occurring in many regions.

“Growing lawlessness has been a major factor in increased logging and forest clearing,” said Manurung, a co-author of the report. Since 1998, the incidence of illegal logging and farming in national parks have increased, such as in Central Sulawesi’s Lore Lindu National Park and in Aceh’s Leuser National Park and in Central Kalimantan’s Tanjung Puting National Park.

Indonesia’s forests are considered to be among the most diverse and biologically rich in the world. Although the country comprises only 1.3 percent of the earth’s land surface, it holds a disproportionately high share of its biodiversity, including 11 percent of the world’s plant species, 10 percent of its mammal species, and 16 percent of its bird species.

While the report says that much of Indonesia’s natural resource base has been destroyed and degraded, much of it still remains. The harder, but more sustainable route will be to reclaim the land that currently lies idle and conserve the primary forest that remains.

Pressure is being applied by international aid donors led by the World Bank to reform the country’s forestry policy, but these efforts have met with limited success. Local Indonesian environmental organizations such as the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) are also putting forward a reform agenda, but to date the government has paid serious attention only to aid donors.

“Sixty four million hectares of Indonesian forest have been cut down over the past 50 years,” said Dirk Bryant, director of Global Forest Watch. “There is no economic or ethical justification for another 64 million hectares to be lost over the next 50 years.”

Source : www.globalforestwatch.org

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Rupiah falls, market waits for policies to take effect

Aditya Suharmoko , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 10/30/2008 7:21 AM | Headlines

The rupiah continued its slide Wednesday against the U.S. dollar, with the market unresponsive to the government’s newly launched set of fiscal policies, waiting for them to take effect.

The rupiah fell to Rp 11,025 per dollar at 5:15 p.m. in Jakarta, from Rp 10,900 at 4:19 p.m. on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.

“The policies will take time (to turn market sentiment around), but they did spark positive sentiment early on,” said Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Danareksa Research Institute head of research.

“I think the (government’s) moves are good; we’ll just wait for the implementation.”

During morning trading, the rupiah climbed to Rp 10,400 per dollar, but lost steam later on.
“The rupiah can’t rebound in a day. There’s no one-day cure for (market) sentiment,” Purbaya said.

He added the government should implement its policies, including buying back government bonds and ordering state-run companies to place their foreign reserves — including export proceeds — in local banks, to help boost the rupiah.

“If the implementation works, the sentiment will change,” he said, calling the 10 policies “far more realistic” than the 10 unveiled by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Oct. 6.

The earlier policies included maintaining economic growth at above 6 percent and doing business as usual, which economists deemed unrealistic and unapplicable.

The new policies were announced Tuesday by the government, in a bid to bolster foreign reserves and prop up the rupiah.

They include the exercising of currency swap agreements with the central banks of China, South Korea and Japan, if needed.

Purbaya said if the government and the central bank started to buy back government bonds, market sentiment would rise.

Currency analyst Farial Anwar, however, said the policies were good but did not address the main problems.

“There are two problems: Free capital flow and free currency traders,” he said. “The government is supposed to limit the flow of hot money entering the country and the sales of dollars.”

By adopting a capital control, Farial went on, the government could manage the flow of investment-oriented money, or hot money, into and out of Indonesia.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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